Sickle cell Advocacy day

On January 29, members of the Indiana Sickle Cell Advisory Committee and the Indiana Sickle Cell Consortium participated in Sickle Cell Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. Several IHTC staff members and patients attended. The focus of the day was to educate legislators on the need for funding for programs and services for adults in Indiana with Sickle Cell Disease. Currently, the state funds two programs at IHTC for patients: the Sickle SAFE Program, for ages 0-3, and the SCORE Program, for ages 3-21. IHTC staff members and other consortium members agree that the state needs to do more for adults. The day’s agenda included speeches from several stakeholders in the sickle cell community, including patients, parents of patients, medical professionals, and even Representative Greg Porter, who has long been a sickle cell champion. Several other legislators visited the event or sent their staff members to gather information. We have plans to make 2019 Advocacy Day even bigger and better! Keep watching this space for more information!